2010

Kenya Attacks Last Major Al-Shabaab Stronghold In Somalia

By WILLIAM MAYER

October 4, 2012 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - In a pre-dawn amphibious raid conducted on September 27, the Kenyan army overran what is believed to be the last major stronghold of al-Shabaab in Somalia.

The audacious beach landing in Kismayo, Somalia by Kenyan forces seemed likely to seriously hamper, if not end the major jihadistic thrust posed by al-Shabaab [an East African al-Qaeda franchise].

Those familiar with the matter speculate that the organization might well be forced underground and thus engage in the bomb-and-run tactics so common to al-Shabaab's parent organization, al-Qaeda.

"The assault is likely to send al-Shabab fighters underground. Hardcore fighters may unleash suicide bombs and ambushes...The assault rocks al-Shabab onto its heels and comes as the government is finally getting organized [having] Last month...endorsed a new provisional constitution that expands rights for Somalis. Speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the entry of Kenyan forces into the Somali port “a significant victory...a major blow to them and we think it’s positive for the region and for Somalia."

In its push to destroy al-Shabaab, which routinely employs a level of brutality that is shocking even by African standards, Kenya has been allied with Uganda and Burundi whose combined forces have made great strides in defeating the terrorist entity, recently driving them from their fortress town of Mogadishu [Somalia's capital].

As the Osundefender also notes, upon being ejected from Mogadishu, al-Shabaab sought refuge in nearby towns which then fell to the forces representing the alliance.

These developments are indeed good news for anti-jihadists in Eastern Africa since al-Qaeda has unfortunately been resurgent in the North, specifically Libya. The most recent evidence of this is of course the deadly attack on the American Embassy there, killing 4 including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Because of a paucity of coverage by the Western media, until recently, al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab's efforts in Africa were little known outside of the continent despite the national security implications that such jihadistic activity represents.

One major effect of these developments is that it serves to totally undercut the Obama administrations contention that the death of bin-Laden somehow destroyed al-Qaeda. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we have reported:

"Though some, including this president, are claiming that al-Qaeda has been decimated in the wake of bin-Laden's death, the reverse is really the case. Instead of standing and fighting in hostile situations which brought them directly [when there was an actual hot war on terror being conducted] into conflict with the U.S. military, the jihadists have simply picked up camp and moved to safer climes, i.e., especially other failed states such as Somalia.